A Couple Runs in Asheville, NC

I went to a conference last week in Asheville, North Carolina. When I was asked to speak at it earlier in the year, I thought "I've heard good things about that place, sure, why not." It was a good decision. It's a funky little city/town (I can't tell which it is - big town or small city). It kinda reminded DW and I of Brattleboro, VT, a place where almost anything goes. Not necessarily a hippy town, but there is certainly plenty of that element. Along with the musical/artistic side of things. It was fun.

I was able to get two runs in while there. We stayed at the Grove Park Inn, which is a pretty nice place.

It's on the side of a mountain, so everywhere I could run is either up or down. Actually, it was lots of both. Oh, and it was humid. But at 6:00 in the morning, the temps were in the low 60s so I wasn't complaining. I also wasn't pushing the pace. Both 5-6 mile runs were around 10:00 per mile, and I finished both with a smile on my face.

The homes in the area were awesome. While there were some enormous ones, most were small to medium sized, but what I liked about them were many were architecturally from the early 1900s. And people kept them in nice condition. Here's a few I took photos of as I ran by.

On my second run, I found a little trail that looped around a small lake. It was nice.

But if I had a dog, there might have been a problem since I didn't have a permit! Strange.

That's it. It was a fun trip. I enjoy running in new places. I'd never run in NC before. Not sure how many states I have run in, but I'm pretty sure I've got no chance of beating Dave to running in all 50 states.

fancy hotel! I always wanted to visit Asheville back when I lived in the south. The used to show commercials advertising natural water slides. But, I think your approach (a nice run in the mountains) would be more my speed!

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